


Becomming Caine

by MorganWolf



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hermaphrodite Caine, Legion Training, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Praise Kink, Prophetic Dreams, Smut, Stuff getting blown up, escaping, mention of knots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-09-12 21:12:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 17,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9091009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganWolf/pseuds/MorganWolf
Summary: Young Caine and Stinger in the Legion. Caine had just been sold to the Legion and Stinger was training him. Their base got attacked and Pandemonia broke loose (I have some ideas floating around in my head and I really need to write them down. Hopefully it works out alright.)Inspiration board - https://au.pinterest.com/morganwolf078/becomming-caine/Jupiter Ascending fan group on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/848624405185703/





	1. Intro

“Get up!” said Stinger as he wiped the mud off his face. Not that it mattered much. His hair clung to his head, rivulets of water pouring down the muddy strands, washing it clean again. He looked at the recruit laying in the mud, coughing and trying to wipe the mud from his face. The recruit didn’t answer, but spat out a mouthful of mud and blood. The younger splice slowly got to his feet, spreading them wide enough to try to stabilise his footing in the slick ground.

“Again.” commanded Stinger, and readied himself. The recruit hesitated, then launched himself forward at his training officer. The young splice threw a left punch, then right, blocked one from Stinger and took the other on his jaw. He moved to kick Stinger in the ribs, ducking another punch, but went feet up as Stinger anticipated his move, and took his legs out from underneath him.

The recruit landed on his back in the mud, again, with a resounding ‘oof’, as the wind was knocked out of him. “That’s enough, for now.” groaned Stinger. “Too fucking muddy for this shit. Go clean yourself up. You smell like a wet, muddy dog.” He reached a hand down to the recruit to help him up. The recruit looked at Stinger for a moment longer than usual, then took the Bee-Splices’ offered hand.

Stinger pulled him out of the mud and as they stood eye to eye, wet, muddy and tired from their training, a glimmer of, something, flickered momentarily in the recruits’ eyes. Stinger was too drenched to care at that point in time though. “Showers. Now.” he said, then stepped around the recruit and headed there himself.

As he schlomped his way there, he was stopped in a hallway by his commanding officer. “Apini!” the Dragon-Splice roared from behind him. “What in the fucks’ name do you think you are doing?” “Staff Sergeant, Sir!” Stinger turned and saluted him. “I’m heading for the showers, Sir!” The Staff Sergeant returned the salute. “Heading for the showers? Look at the shit you’re dragging with you through my halls!! Why the fuck are you dragging this shit through my halls Corpral? Last time I checked you were a Bee-Splice, not a shit-soaked Pig-Splice!!!!” “Sir! Training the new recruit. Sir!” replied Stinger formally.

“The runt? Fuck me sideways Apini!!! You had him out in that shit?! I swear to Uyer*, if he drops dead, it’s coming out of your pay-check!” “He’ll live, for now.” replied Stinger, warily. “You’d better hope so Apini. Why the Legion wasted credits on that runt is beyond me. Don’t fucking waste those credits! You hear me?” “Sir, yes Sir!” replied Stinger, saluting again. “Fuck off to the showers. And get someone to clean this shit up off my floors!” “Aye, Sir.” said Stinger nodding. He turned for the showers after the Staff Sergeant dismissed him, almost slipping in a puddle of mud. Stinger smirked a little at the Staff Sergeant as the new recruit passed him, head down, heading to the showers. “I saw that!” muttered the Dragon-Splice, swearing and cursing under his breath at the sticky grey/brown mess.  Stinger turned and kept walking, following the wet dog smell to the showers.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Uyer - God of War


	2. What lies under the mud

A month later, and it was still raining. Stinger was sure that if it kept up for much longer, they’d either get flooded out, or invaded by the deep burrowing carnivorous Zarflongs. As he looked over his pile of FTL’s and sheaves strewn across his desk, he almost wished one would come above ground, just so he could throw the pile of space paper work down its massive throat. And then run like Ayeomanth**. He chuckled at the thought and leant back in his flimsy chair. It creaked noisily as the comm on his room door buzzed.

“It’s open.” he called out. The door slid silently into the wall, and an Arachnid-Splice entered, stopping in front of Stingers desk. “Corporal Apini. More sheave-work. Enjoy.” she said, dumping a good dozen sheaves on top of Stingers messy desk. “Cheers,” he replied disgusted.

“You know, you never gave me an answer about getting that drink?” he added. She stopped in the doorway and looked back at Stinger. “I’d rather drink Zarflong piss, _Corporal_.” she replied, and left in a huff. “Suit yourself spidey-grump.” he said, rolling his eye at the empty doorway. “Fucking stuck-up arachnids. Fucking sheaves.” Sighing, Stinger reluctantly picked up a random sheave, and set to work clearing the backlog of space crap off his desk.

 

\----------------

 

Two nights later, Stinger was back out in the training arena. It was still pissing down rain, and once again, the recruit was on the ground in the mud. At least he was on his knees instead of his stomach for a change. “Get up recruit.” Stinger snapped at him. The recruit winced, holding an arm into his left ribs as he stood up obediently. Stinger worried momentarily about it, but pushed the thought aside as the muddy blonde male grunted painfully and swung a fist at Stinger. The Corporal blocked it easily and again swept his opponents feet out from underneath him. As the recruit fell, Stinger heard a crack, and saw pain crawl across the runts face. “Ah fuck. Get up, hit the showers.” Stinger told him, and hauled the runt out of the mud. The recruit whined in pain, but said nothing and left for the showers.

Stinger watched him leave for a few moments, wondering what in the hell was up with the runts splicing’. Maybe he really was defective after-all. It had been months since Stinger was thrown the splice and told to train him up for the Legion, but so far, he hadn’t spoken a word to Stinger. The Corporal shook his head, then headed for the showers himself. This time of night, there was almost no-one around, save for the cleaning bots.

When he reached the showers, he could hear a shower running, and assumed it was the recruit. Stinger pealed the sodden shirt and pants off and threw them down the nearest laundry chute. One good thing about the Legion, they didn’t have to wash their own shitty uniforms. As he padded over to his favourite shower, Stinger heard a whimper from the other shower cubicle. Curious, he walked over to it and opened the door.

Curled up in a corner of the shower was the recruit, covered in bruises. “Fuck me,” whispered Stinger aghast. “Fuck! Why didn’t you tell me about this! Have you had any treatments?” Stinger crouched down under the warm water and gently placed his hand on the others’ shoulder. The runt shook his head slightly, whimpered again and tried to curl up into a smaller ball, away from Stingers hand. “Recruit, look at me.” he said gently. Slowly, the runt unfurled himself enough to look at Stinger.

One eye was starting to swell, and a bruise was coming through on his cheek. “Have you had a treatment since we started training?” Stinger asked again. The runt shook his head again and went to turn away. Stinger quickly, but gently, grabbed his chin and carefully turned his head back towards him. “I said look at me recruit.” The recruit lifted his eyes after a moment and met Stingers concerned gaze. “What’s your name?” Stinger asked. “Caine.” the runt finally said. “Well Caine. Judging by your bruising, I’d say you have a few cracked ribs there, among other things. You should have told me when it happened so we could get you treated.”

Caine dropped his eyes and shook his head slightly. “I’m not worth it.” he said, barely audible over the noise of the shower. Looking back up at Stinger, Caine saw compassion on his face. “Like fuck you’re not. Get up. I’m taking you to the infirmary.” Stinger told him. The Corporal stood up and turned off the shower, the leant back down and helped Caine up off the floor. The sight of the runts’ naked body sickened him. It was covered in old and new bruises, cuts and abrasions. And several scars.

Stinger took Caines arm and it put it over his shoulder. Slowly, the two naked, wet splices made their way out of the showers and down to the infirmary. Only a handful of Legionnaires saw them as they passed, but none dared to comment on the sight. Everyone knew Stinger had been training Caine outside for the last few months, but the sight of Caines colourful body made them avert their eyes.  “Almost there.” Stinger said, and pushed open the infirmary doors. Caine’s legs almost gave way from underneath him. “Medic!!” Stinger yelled at the top of his lungs, carefully lowering Caine to the floor.

Several nurse-bots and two human doctors came running toward them. Stinger stepped away from Caine as he was surrounded, bundled up and carried to a treatment room. A bot approached Stinger with a towel, and he took it gratefully. Suddenly aware that he was naked and dripping water on the hospital floor, Stinger quickly dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist. “Buzz me as soon as he has finished treatment.” he told the bot, who bowed in acknowledgement, then left to do other things. Stinger shook his head again and left to go find some privacy in his quarters. “Fucking Lycantant runt. You better heal up alright.” he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zarflongs - Ever seen the movie Tremors? Yup, it's those huge worms that like to eat people. Hey, they had to come from somewhere, right?
> 
> Ayeomanth - (AKA) Hell


	3. Boom!

Turning the final corner near his room, Stinger heard the sirens wail into life. “What the fuck!” he cursed, and sprinted the last few meters to his quarters. Mashing on the door pad, the door buzzed in defiance. Stinger took in a breath and re-entered his code. This time the door slid open and he raced in. Glad that he was kinda lazy at cleaning up, he grabbed the nearest Legion-issued pants, socks and his grav-boots. Throwing them on hastily, he nearly tripped over his body armour vest. “Beeswax,” he grunted, smashing his knee into a large empty ammunitions box on the floor, and grabbed the vest and his brown armoured jacket.

Soldiers and legionnaires filled the hallways, running towards the armouries and then out to the designated rally points. Their yelling and cursing became interrupted with the sound of several bomb blasts, and their own ground to air missile launchers and war hammers being released. The ground and walls vibrated as a blast went off less than a hundred yards or so from where Stinger was pushing his way through the soldiers. One of the last few to reach the armoury, Stinger was thrown a long rifle, several rounds, and a belt of explosives. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with just this?” he spat out. “Fucking use it or give it to someone else soldier! In case you didn’t hear the damn sirens and bomb blasts, WE”RE UNDER ATTACK!”

“Gee. Really? I thought it was you pleasure bot exploding all over the shop again!” Stinger retorted. “Give me those two hand guns and rounds, and grenade launcher.” The soldier looked ready to shoot Stinger, but the Bee-Splice could move faster than the human. Stinger quickly grabbed the gear he wanted, then raced out of the armoury. Several bomb blasts hit the compound, one in the building next to the armoury. As it exploded, it sent debris flying in all directions and a slab of one of the walls was sent crashing through the hallway in front of Stinger, but he heard none of it, only saw it.

The explosion set his ears ringing and he fell to his knees, unbalanced. He saw more explosions go off through the hole in the wall. Mud and debris went flying again, and the bodies of some of his Legion-mates with it. His eyes falling to the floor, Stinger saw the rifle and hand guns he had dropped. Shaking his head to try to clear the ringing, he managed to grab the weapons and rounds, and half-ran-half-stumbled towards the hospital.

“Who the fuck attacks in the middle of the Idros-damned*** monsoons! Fuck me, that pup had better still be breathing!” he swore to himself. Stinger felt more bombs explode around him, their shockwaves crashing through him and everything around him. He fell to his knees again, this time landing in the mud. The buildings where the hospital was, were completely destroyed. “No!” he tried to scream, but was cut off by another blast. The shockwave knocked him flat, and before he passed out in the mud, he saw a blurry figure crawling through the mire towards him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idros - God of Water


	4. Hideout

Stinger came to slowly. The first thing he became aware of, was the silence. The second, his head, hurt like it had been hit with by a Modreanee* hoof. He tried to raise his hand to his head but was unable to, so he groaned in frustration and pain. “Stay still,” a quiet husky voice told him. “Your arm and two of your ribs were broken, and your skull was fractured Sir. I strapped your chest and bound your arm and head, but you need to stay still.”

“Caine?” groaned Stinger. “What happened? And where the fuck are we?” “Some-one attacked us Sir. The base has been destroyed. I pulled a handful of survivors up here. We’re in a cave high up on the range. The Zarflongs are eating the dead.” Caine reported to him. “Fuck me.” Stinger said sadly. “Do you know who attacked us?” “No Sir.” Caine said, sitting down near Stinger. “But they were over 8-foot-tall, skin and bone. Some had a long claw on the middle finger, others had two or three claws several inches long. They had a mouth full of fangs. Do you know of these creatures?”

“Azarn Ceol**. Fuck!” Stinger swore, then started coughing. “So. Who’s senior rank now then?” Caine stared at Stinger a moment before he said “You, Sir.” “Me? Well that’s a first. (more coughing) You said you rescued some others. Who?” “Sir. I found Jax Gallows, the Solberg twins, Emily Wells and Jason DeLaria. Although DeLaria lost his eyes. I took the chunk of metal out, but his chances of survival are low.”

“I can still hear you _runt._ ” snapped Jason angrily. “When I get new eyes, I’m gonna kick your arse.” Caine looked at DeLaria sceptically, and huffed in dismissal. The corner of Stingers mouth turned up even though his head started swimming. He groaned again as Caine leant over him, placing a warm hand on Stingers head. “Rest. You’re starting to burn up.“ Caine moved to get up, but Stinger grabbed his arm with his other hand, grunting at the pain. “Caine. Thank you.”

Caine tilted his head, not used to hearing someone saying it to him. He nodded, and Stinger dropped his hand. “Where are you going?” “To find some more medicine.” “From down there?” “Where else?” asked Caine turning back to look at his injured Corporal. “You need it, and so do the others. Please don’t tell me not to go.” Stinger considered his request. Maybe the runt wasn’t so useless after all. “Don’t die.” Stinger told him. “Yes Sir.” Caine saluted Stinger, then turned around and crept out of the cave entrance.

 

\-------------

Stinger managed to stay conscious. He could hear the breathing, and pain-filled groans, of the other in the cave with him. The longer he lay where he was, the more aware he became of the hard, rocky ground he was laying on. And the cold. There was no natural light in the cave, and he assumed it was still night time outside. Not that it made much difference. He was injured, apparently badly, and so were the others. Except Caine. The Lycantant. The Lycantant _Runt_. “Grrrr, fuck this shit to Ayeomanth!” he swore hotly, removing a rock from under his hip.  “How the fuck did he get us up here, in the mountains?” “I used this.” said Caine walking into the cave. He was pulling a hover-sled, the faint blue light from under it eerily lighting up the cave. Stinger started laughing, then coughing and grunting in pain as his ribs reminded him that they were broken.

“Should have known. What did you manage to find?” Stinger asked. “Four intact medi-kits, two pods of juice***, three boxes of rations, a dozen backpacks. I found some clothes scattered around, blankets too. They are in poor condition, but with the medi-kits, everyone should be able to keep warm enough. Some of the rags can be used for bandages and splints. And to camouflage the hover-sled. That blue light will give us away, if anyone looks in our direction.”  “Good work Runt,” said Emily Wells. “Let me help you get this stuff out to everyone. Keep the juice for the worst affected.”

Caine looked at her in surprise. It was the first time anyone had talked to him as an equal since he had arrived at the base. Carefully, Caine quietly inhaled to catch her scent better. She smelt mostly of gore and mud, like the rest of them, but underneath that layer, he thought he could smell a light mech-oil scent from her enhancements, and a touch of cinnamon and aniseed. It was different. Neither offensive nor inviting, but more relaxing than anything else.

“Good idea Wells.” Stinger told her. “Caine. I never did ask your last name.” Stinger said to him. “I don’t have one, Sir.” Caine replied quietly. “Huh. Guess I’ll have to come up with one for you then. Can’t leave you the odd man out.” Stinger grinned, happy at the thought. Caine tilted his head to the side momentarily, trying to figure Stinger out. He huffed quietly, but nodded at Stinger. “Yes Sir.” Caine replied. “If it pleases you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Modreanne – If Sleipnir and a Thestral had a foal......  
> **Azarn Ceol – Bad ugly aliens  
> ***pods of juice – small canisters containing RegeneX, (approx. 500ml each)


	5. A little comfort

Dividing up the three pods, Caine used the first full one on Stinger. He tried to treat Tristan Solberg and Jax Gallows with the second pod, but they both refused him. Emily gave the men a piece of her mind, but in the end Stinger used the RegeneX on them and Jason DeLaria. Unfortunately, DeLaria’s eyes did not heal. There was too much damage, and not enough juice. He still had minimal scarring across his eyes and the bridge of his nose, but considering how bad it was before, he was lucky the metal had not gone in further. “Sorry Private. Nothin’ I can do now. At least the wound is healed. Maybe when we get out of this shit-storm, the RSM* can get you new eyes?” suggested Stinger to Jason.

“It’s all that _runts_ fault!” Jason spat out angrily. “If it wasn’t for him, none of this would have happened! You know what they’ve all been saying about him. We’ve had nothing but bad luck since he showed up. And now I have no eyes! They should have put him down the minute he was whelped!” Stinger curled up his fist and punched Jason square in the jaw, knocking DeLaria onto the ground. Angrily, Stinger squatted down over his chest, pinning the blind man to the ground. “Sir!! What the fuck!!” DeLaria yelled in panic.

“If it wasn’t for Caine, you’d still have a chunk of metal in your face. Or you’d be back down at the base, becoming Zarflong food. Be thankful you’re alive, _for now._ ” Stinger said quietly, leaning in near Jason’s face. “If you ever talk about Caine like that again, I’ll throw you down a Zarflong tunnel myself. Do I make myself clear, _Private?_ ” “Sir, Yes Sir!” “That goes for the rest of you too. If it wasn’t for Caine, none of us would be here.” The others nodded to him as Stinger looked at each of them in turn. Looking for Caine, Stinger didn’t see him.

“Where’s Caine?” he asked the group as he got up off DeLaria's chest. They all shook their heads and looked away or down at their boots. “Fuck!” snarled Stinger, looking around the cave. “Stay here, and pack your gear. Camo the sled, and put him on it too.” he said, pointing to Jason. DeLaria mumbled under his breath, but Emily kicked his leg and he shut up. Stinger found the tunnel that went from the cave out to the side of the mountain. Caine was on the floor in the corner of the entrance, arms around his knees and leaning against the cold rocky wall. He was looking out towards the burning base, watching the Zarflongs moving amongst the rubble.

Stinger saw one of Caines ears move slightly and knew that he heard him approaching. “Wondered where you went.” Stinger told him as he sat down next to Caine and looked down at the base too. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Caine wipe a hand across his eyes. Stinger sighed gently, then turned his head to look at Caine. “I know what they’ve been saying about you. For the record, I reckon they’re full of shit.”

“What if it’s all true? What if I’m just bad luck?” Caine asked him sadly. Stinger gently nudged Caines shoulder with his own. “Don’t believe it, Pup. Look where the base is built, for a start. All these mountains, most of the caves are old Zarflong tunnels. We blew up a shitload when they first sent us out here, long before you arrived. Always knew it was just a matter of time before shit hit the fan.” Caine nodded but Stinger could see he was trembling slightly, and noticed a tear run down Caines cheek. 

“If it wasn’t for you, we’d all be in the belly of those fucking worms down there, with or without the Azarn Ceol showing up. You saved us Caine.” Stinger told him. Caine hung his head and started shaking more. Stinger moved hard up against Caines’ side and put his arm across the Lycantants’ back, and slowly stroked the back of his neck. Caine sat stiffly at first, lost in his own thoughts. After a while, he started to relax as Stinger kept stroking the back of his neck and head. Tears still ran down his face, but he wondered why Stinger was trying to comfort him. No-one had ever shown him any kind of affection like this. Carefully, Caine leant into Stingers side, while keeping his eyes on the burning base.

He saw Stingers face soften a little, out of the corner of his eye. Curious now, Caine breathed in Stingers scent, slowly so the Splice would not notice it. He smelt the deep, rich, honey scent mixed with the mud and blood covering Stinger, as well as something like musk and chamomile. The scent flowed through Caine as he memorised it, making his nerve endings tingle. He shivered a little and when Stinger looked at him questioningly, Caine finally looked back at him.

Stingers eyes were dilated a little more than usual, clearly showing his hexagonal pupils. Caine noticed that he was also breathing a little faster than usual and caught a whiff of pheromones. When Caine tilted his head in confusion, Stinger moved his hand from the back of Caines neck and stroked under his ear. Stinger held Caines eyes with his own as he moved his hand around more and softly caressed Caines cheek with his thumb, and wiped away a falling tear.

Without thinking, Caine leant his head into Stingers hand and drew in a breath of Stingers wrist. Stinger smiled and nodded at Caine, and Caine grazed his lips across Stingers wrist, making both of then shiver. Stinger felt his cock tingle, and shifted himself uncomfortably. Caine noticed and lifted his head, thinking he had done the wrong thing. Stinger smiled at him again and got up onto his knees. Turning to face Caine, Stinger grabbed his head gently with both hands and leant his forehead against Caines. He breathed out deeply through his nose, and heard Caine inhale his scent.

Finally, Stinger said to Caine, “Another time Pup. We need to go, before we’re found.” He released Caines head from his hands and leant back, sliding them down Caines arms to his knees. Caine tilted his head slightly again, but nodded. Stinger stood himself up and reached a hand down to Caine. Caine grabbed it and Stinger pulled him up so that they were standing chest to chest. Releasing Caines hand, Stinger leant forward and drew in a breath at Caines neck. Caine shivered again but stood still, unsure of what he should do.

Stinger breathed gently on Caines neck as he grazed his lips and teeth over it. He heard Caine whine softly and felt the Lycantant’s cock start to harden through his pants. “Another time,” he said again, to Caines flustered disappointment. “We really do need to leave here. The others should be ready to go by now.” Caine nodded again and stepped aside for Stinger to go back into the cave. Stingers mouth quirked at the side, then he nodded and led the way back to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *RSM - Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army


	6. Hope, and tales of things passed

The group was making its way alone the tunnel to the cave entrance when Caine caught a scent blowing in towards them. He grabbed Stinger on the shoulder, and when the Corporal turned to look back at him, Caine raised his hand to his mouth to quieten him, then towards the cave entrance and finally to the floor.

Understanding, Stinger quickly lowered himself and the pack he was carrying to the floor. It only took a moment before the others did the same thing. Caine had already scurried silently to the cave entrance, and was looking down the mountain path when Stinger and Jax crawled up next to him. Signing to Stinger, Caine carefully pointed out a group of eight or nine Azarn Ceol, then on a small plateau below them, a planet jumper.

‘Fall back’ Stinger signed to Caine and Jax. The retreated carefully, then ushered the others back into the cave. Once they were far enough back, Stinger told the rest what he saw. “Well the good news is that I think I have a way out of this shit.” he said, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. “What’s the bad news?” asked Emily. “There’s 8 or 9 Azarn Ceol on the small plateau below us.” Jax stated.

“So, tell me what the _Good_ news is again?” she asked sourly. “We’re gonna, _Liberate_ , their planet jumper.” Stinger said, grinning mischievously. “And how the fuck are we gonna do that, and live to tell the tale?” swore Jason. “Like this!!” Stinger said. He squatted down on the floor, and drawing a plan in the dirt, described his idea to get the jumper.

\----------

“So how are we gonna do that, Sir, with no weapons?” Roman Solberg asked. “But there’s weapons here.” Caine said. “What? Rocks and dirt? Seriously Runt!” Roman said sneering. “No. Real weapons. There’s a cache in the very back of the cave.” Caine replied, looking at Stinger. “How do you know that?” Stinger asked curiously. “I can smell them. I could smell them after I left the base carrying you. It’s one of the reasons I picked this cave.” Caine replied. “One of the reasons?” prompted Emily.

“I could smell Stingers scent coming from the cave.” he said shyly, looking at the ground where Stinger was squatting down. “You what?” snorted Jason. “Stingers scent. I could smelt it, on the breeze. Only just though. It was faint, like it had been six to seven months since he had been here.” “Just before the rains started.” Stinger said amazed.

“Sir?” asked Jason, confused. “I’ve been stashing weapons up here on and off, for the last few years. Only when I came out this way on patrol.” Stinger admitted. “But that’s stealing, Sir!!” Emily said in shock. “Aye, it is. But it very well may save our skins now.” “But how’d he know?” Roman said, pointing to Caine. “He hasn’t been on patrol yet, only arrived here three months ago.” “Stinger’s scent. It’s on nearly everyone on base. Some stronger than others. When I smelt the Azarn Ceol, then heard the bomb blasts, I went to find Stinger. With all the rain and blood and mud, and explosions, I nearly missed him. Then I saw him get knocked over by a nearby bomb-blast. I crawled over to him, and dragged him behind a slab of floor sticking out of the mud. I couldn’t get him out without the invaders seeing us, until I spotted the hover-sled.”

“It took a while, but I finally got us far enough away from the base. Thought it might be a good idea to head for the mountains. So that’s what I did. Half way there, I caught Stinger’s scent on the breeze, faint, but definitely his. I followed it up here. Made sure he was alright, as much as I could. Then went back with the sled to see if I could find any supplies, and survivors. I found Emily first, then Jax, and brought them to the cave. I went back again, found the twins and brought them here too. I went back a third time, found Jason and nearly got caught coming out of the base. Luckily, the Azarn Ceol got distracted by a Zarflong. I took the chance, and got Jason back here as carefully as I could, without being followed.”

“I tried to help Jason as much as I could, but without any juice, it wasn’t much that I could do. Then you woke up Sir. With everyone’s injuries, we didn’t have much chance of survival. That’s when I decided to go back again. See if I could find anything to help you. I did, but there must have been an Azarn Ceol hiding in the ruins, waiting.” Caine reported to Stinger. “And it saw which way you went. Now it’s down there, trying to find us?” Stinger asked. “Yes. It would seem that way. I was under the impression though, that they were the best trackers in this galaxy?” asked Caine.

“They are.” Tristan said. “The fact that they have only just made an appearance when we’ve been up here, what? Four days? Means that they’re playing with us.” “Agreed.” Stinger nodded. “Good thing Caine brought us to _this_ cave. It means we have a fighting chance to get that jumper and get back to Orous. A wise move, Caine.” Stinger said and slapped the, now blushing, Lycantant’s shoulder gently. “Very Wise.”

Jason groaned audibly, picking up on Stinger praising tone towards Caine. Emily cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing. “So, that leaves one last thing then.” Jax stated. When they all looked at him, he shrugged his shoulder and said grinning “What’s in the cache?”


	7. Boys' Toys

As it turned out, there was quite a lot in Stingers hidden cache. More than enough for all of them. “Take what you want, leave the rest here. Maybe I’ll come back and get it some other time.” Stinger said to the Twins, Jax and Emily.  “Hey Caine, I thought you might like this one. It’s a Mauler. Makes an interesting noise when you fire it. Thought it might suit you.” Caine looked up at Stinger in surprise, then ducked his head, blushing.

He took it and turned it over in his hands. It was a beautiful piece of weaponry, black and silver and gold. It even had gold wings on the lower part of the grip, and frame as well and an ornate gold trigger guard. Flicking the safety switch off, Caine held up the gun and aimed it at a wall, activating it. The blue glow softly lit up Caines face, giving him an ethereal look. Stinger drew in his breath at the sight. Hearing it, Caine lowered the gun, and his head shyly, then looked at Stinger. “Thank you, Sir.” Caine said softly.

“You’re welcome Pup.” Stinger replied breathlessly.  Then, shaking his head slightly, he added. “Oh, while I think of it. It comes as a matching pair.” Stinger turned back to the cache and grabbed the box the first mauler was in, its twin still being in the box. He handed it to Caine then went rummaging around the cache again to find the leg holsters that went with the maulers. “Fuck it, they gotta be here somewhere!” he swore, pushing aside a shoulder canon. “Is this what you’re looking for Corporal?” asked Jax, holding up the holsters.

“Yes. Thanks Gallows.” Stinger said as Jax handed it to him. Stinger looked it over to make sure there were no signs of perish, then gave it to Caine. “Thank you, Sir.” Caine rumbled, and he clipped the belt around his waist and the clips around his thighs. “Hmm. Suits you.” Stinger told him as he slid the Maulers into their holsters. Caine nodded, still blushing. Stinger smiled at him gently, then turned back to the pile of weapons.

“Right. Everyone got what they wanted?” he asked the group in general. There were nods and ‘Yes Sirs’’, but Jason said “No. What do I get? Nothin. Can’t fucking see to shoot the bastards, can I?” Stinger and Jax both rolled their eyes, and Emily shifted her feet, accidentally nudging the canon. It shifted in the pile, moving a few other weapons along with it. “Is that what I think it is?” asked Jax. He’d noticed something, fun, that had just become exposed on the pile. “Hey! That’s a flame thrower!” exclaimed Roman.

“And not one of those shit-fuelled, cheap, pieces of crap!” he said. “It’s one of the top-of-the-line ones, complete with the latest guidance systems!” added Tristan. “I’ve heard about them, but hadn’t seen one before I grabbed this one.” Stinger said as he picked up the head piece. Walking over to Jason, Stinger unclasped the back of the gear, then said “I’m gonna put this on your head DeLaria. It’s the head gear for the flame thrower. You won’t need eyes with this thing, but you may feel a little bit of, _momentary_ , acute pain at the side of your eyes.”

“What do you mean _momen..._  AHH FUCK!!!!” yelled Jason, and grabbed at his head. The downside to the head gear, it inserted to tiny wires into the wearers head. Directly into the optical nerves. “Don’t touch it, it won’t last long!’ Stinger said, hastily grabbing Jasons’ hands away from the head gear.  One of the up-sides, was that the head gear also released a pain killer while it was attaching itself to the nerves.  The other, was that once activated, Jason would be able to see again.

“Fuck me sideways, Sir!! Why didn’t you tell me about that part first?” Jason swore once the painkillers had kicked in. “Would you have let me put it on you if I had told you?” “Fuck NO!” Stinger turned the device on, and the central screen glowed a soft aqua colour. “How about now?” “Nothing ..... wait ...... Oh Fuck!!! I can see you. Still ugly as a Cheln*.” Jason said finally, looking around the cave, then at Stinger. Stinger chuckled then stood up and helped Jason off the floor. “Grab the flame thrower, now that you can see it.” “Sir. Yes Sir!”

“Sir?” asked Jax. “Yeah Gallows?” replied Stinger. “Do we need to take that sled with us?” he asked the Corporal. “Not really, if we manage to get that jumper in one piece. Why?” “I just had an interesting idea, for a decoy!” Jax replied with a wicked grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chlen - Ugly imp alien thingy. Lots of sharp weird teeth, marbled eyes and pointy ears


	8. Bark! Bark!

“Well, spit it out boy! We haven’t got all year!” snapped Stinger. “We’ve got enough stuff here to set up a body on that sled, complete with automatic gun-fire. It has an auto-pilot, right? Punch in some co-ords, so it goes off by itself. The fuglys out there follow it, leaving us none or just a couple to guard the jumper.” Jax told the group enthusiastically. “They’ll smell it, and will figure out its not alive.” Emily interjected. “Well. Who’s the stinkiest here then?” replied Jax with a smirk, eyes darting towards Roman.

“Don’t look at me Gallows! Nothing wrong with the way I smell. It’s au-naturalle!” he huffed. Tristan sidled over to his twin, leaned towards him and inhaled loudly. “Oh fuck!” Tristan coughed, and fanned his hand in front of his nose. “Brother, you really DO stink!” Stinger chuckled as Roman went to smack Tristan across the back of the head, but missed as his twin ducked out of the way. “Don’t make me kick your arse again, _LITTLE_ brother!”

“Hey! Nothing Little about me at all! You on the other hand .....” Tristan retorted as he waved his pinkie in front of his brothers’ face. Roman quickly punched Tristan in the face, giving him a bloody nose. He was about to do it again when a loud screeching was heard coming from outside the cave. “Time’s nearly up people.” Stinger said quietly. “Let’s hurry up and make up this decoy and get that fucken ship before we get captured.”

 

\----------------

 

“Well, that’s the shittiest looking decoy ever. But it will have to do.” Stinger said as he stepped back from the sled, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Right, let’s get this thing fired up then Sir.” said Emily. Stinger nodded and turned the sled on. He typed a code into the control panel, set the co-ordinates, and readied the guns on the dummy. Jason and Jax pushed the hover-sled to the entrance of the cave tunnel, the others following behind readying their weapons. “Well, this is either gonna be a cake-walk,” stated Tristan. “Or a shit-storm.” finished Roman.

“It is what it is, so let’s just get this over with.” Emily said as she cocked her gun. “You know, Wells.” Roman said to her. “When this is all over ....” “Don’t make me use this on you.” Emily interrupted Roman, pointing her gun at him. “Hey! Ok, ok, just asking!” Roman backed away with his hands in the air. Caine lay his hand on the mauler at his side and sniffed the air discretely in their direction, wondering if she actually would shoot Roman. Stinger caught the movement from the corner of his eye, and shook his head slightly.

Caine, who had become his shadow, saw the movement and removed his hand from the gun, and relaxed slightly. He tilted his head as he looked at Stinger, eyes darting to the cave entrance and back to Stinger again. Stingers mouth quirked at the edge in recognition of the silent question. He was just about to speak when they heard the alien voices outside. “Time’s up, let’s go.” he said. Jason pushed the “Go” button on the sled, and it took off down the hillside.

Loud screeches and gun-fire was heard. As they carefully looked over the small ledge of the entrance, the group saw several of the Azarn Ceol chasing after the sled, trying to shoot it. Tristan snorted as one tripped over a boulder in its haste and howled in pain. They saw one of its group stop to see what happened to its fallen Ceol, then it pointed its gun at it and fired. “Well. One down, how many to go?” “More than I’d like.” replied Stinger. “C’mon, I got dibs on the big one near the ship.” “Not if I get him first!” said Emily, and she took off out the entrance firing at the remaining Azarn Ceol around the ship. Jax, Roman and Tristan grinned as they chased after her. Jason followed quickly, and Stinger turned to Caine and said “C’mon. Let’s go get that ship and get back to Orous.” Caine nodded, and as he went to launch himself down the hillside, Stinger grabbed him by the front of his shirt, whipped him around and kissed him hard.

Caine was too stunned to push himself away from his Corporal as Stingers tongue pushed its way into his mouth. Not realising what he was doing, Caine gently wrapped a hand around Stingers back and pulled him in close. Stinger moaned greedily into Caines mouth as he felt Caines hand, and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, still kissing Caine roughly. When his cock began to harden in his pants, he pushed Caine back a few steps and grinned at him, breathing hard.

“Good.” he told Caine, then raced out the entrance and down into the fight outside. Caine huffed in confusion, then took off after him. The maulers barked like an angry mutt as he discharged them towards the Azarn Ceol. He growled in pleasure, and raced towards the ship with his teeth bared, firing at the aliens. A fleeting thought crossed his mind as he dropped an alien, and he smiled to himself as Stinger raced into the open airlock of the ship. “How are we gonna fly this heap?” he heard Jason mutter as he raced past him and hurdled a boulder. “No idea. Just keep firing.”  he yelled over his shoulder. “Easier said than done, mutt!” Jason yelled back.

Caine grinned wickedly, and jumped on the back of the nearest Azarn Ceol. “And it’s not supposed to be fun either!” Jason added. But Caine just bared his teeth and kept fighting, like he was made to do.


	9. Escape

Jason finished off the last Azarn Ceol as he and Caine heard the engines rev up, preparing for take-off. “Fuck! They’re leaving without us!” yelled Jason. Caine just rolled his eyes and sprinted the short distance to the rear hatch. Entering it, he was almost overwhelmed with the stench of what he thought was rotting vegetation and carrion. “Stinks like shit!” Tristan roared over the sound of the engines when he saw Caine trying not to retch. Jason hurled himself in, seconds later, and Tristan laughed and hit a control panel on the wall, closing the hatch door.

“ _What the FUCK_ is that smell!” swore Jason as he picked himself up, wiping his hands down his clothes in disgust. “And _what_ is this _crap_ on me?!” Tristan laughed again and slapped Jason hard on the back. “Don’t know, don’t care! I just wanna get away from this shit hole and those shitty worms and the shitty rain!” he replied. Caine snorted, nodded at Tristan, then headed to the cockpit to find Stinger.

“I guess he don’t like the smell either!” Tristan added, elbowing Jason in the ribs. “Who the fuck cares. He’s just a defective fucking runt.” grunted Jason in disgust. “I wouldn’t be too sure about. C’mon, let’s go find the boss, see where we’re headed.” Caine heard them, of course, but kept going. Tristan noticed though, when Caines head and shoulders dropped. “Maybe you should give him a chance DeLaria. He did save your arse, after all.” Tristan said, loud enough for Caine to hear. “Like fuck! Have you seen my face lately?” Jason spat. “Yeah.” replied Tristan, ducking around some kelp(?) fronds dangling from the roof. “It’s an improvement, if you ask me!”

“Fuck you’re full of it _Twinnie!_ Don’t tell me you’ve got the hots for that _runt_ too!” Jason snapped, stopping in his tracks. “Things were fine with our base, with our unit, before that _mutt_ showed his face. Everything has gone to Ayeomanth because of him! The sooner he fucks off, the better!” Tristan stopped and turned to look at Jason in disbelief. “You know what. Keep that thought up, and Stinger may not have to push you out the air-lock. I might just do it for him, you grumpy shit!”

“Fuck you Solberg! Fucking _mutt-lover_!” swore Jason, and then spat at Tristan’s’ feet. “He saved my arse, and Romans’ too. I’ve a debt to repay, so you’d best back off. Maybe you might just get left on the next rock we end up on, Stinger or no Stinger.” Tristan threatened Jason. “Whatever.” huffed Jason, and he pushed his way past Tristan, swearing under his breath.

Tristan sighed and shook his head. Whatever was going on with Jason was more than just about losing his eyes. As he followed Jason to the cockpit, he wondered if maybe Jason wasn’t just a little bit jealous of Stingers’ attention towards the Lycantant?

By the time they reached the cockpit, Stinger had the jumper out of the planets’ atmosphere and was setting a course to another planet. “Why not just go straight to Orous?” asked Emily. “Why go to some shitty back-water planet? They might not even have any craft there.” “Depends on which back-water planet we go to.” replied Stinger. “I’ve heard of one that we might be able to steal a ship from. Something called _Terra_. Not due for harvest for a few hundred years, but still ....”

Caine tilted his head slightly, listening to the Corporals’ conversation, but looked away as Jason and Tristan came in and threw themselves in the two remaining chairs. “Buckle up boys. We’re in for a bumpy ride!” said Emily, and Stinger grinned as he pushed forward on the grav-drive accelerator. Roman swore under his breath as the screen lit up in front of them with a rainbow coloured portal. “Oh, not these portals! Fucken molecule disintegration and re-integration! They make me puke, every time.” “Toughen up Princess!” laughed Stinger as they entered the portal. “Bite me, Sir!” retorted Roman, and Stinger laughed loudly.


	10. Muck

Ten planets, thirteen ships, four crash landings and way too many portals later, Caine and Stinger were up to their knees in swamp muck. The other members that had escaped from the Legion base on Freron 1H4 with them were finally silent, even Jason. Stinger figured that they had more than likely just resigned themselves to the fact that they were up shit creek without a paddle. It didn’t seem to matter where they went, the Azarn Ceol were right behind them. Which could only mean one thing – someone was either a spy, or carrying a tracking device.

Lost in his thoughts and suspicions, Stinger tripped over a root in the muck and landed flat on his face in the mire. Caine grabbed the back of his shirt and belt and lifted Stinger up with the help of Emily and Tristan. Emily snorted and turned her face away when she saw the state of the Corporal.

Stinger was covered in the sickly purple and green swamp muck and looked none too pleased about it, that and the fact it stank to High Ayeomanth. Wiping the stuff out of his eyes and flinging it away, Stinger looked up at Emily, who happened to look back at him and she burst out laughing. He was about to go off at her when Tristan held up a small mirror he’d had stashed away in one of his many pockets, and showed Stinger his reflection.

“Beeswax!” muttered Stinger grumpily. “I don’t even look like me, covered in this shit!” Caine tilted his head, amused. “You know, that could come in handy. You don’t even smell like you.” he said. “He doesn’t what?” asked Tristan, confused. “Smell.” Caine replied. “Well, at least not like he usually does.” he added, turning slightly pink at the ear-tips.

“And how is it that the Azarn track us?” chimed in Emily. “Smell, tracks, locators, drones, usual stuff. Their olfactory receptors are more highly concentrated than ours, more than most species to be exact.”Tristan said, suddenly catching on. “If we’re covered in this stuff, maybe we have a chance to lose them.” Roman scooped up a handful of the slime, contemplating it reluctantly. “Swamp monsters. Yeah, there’s all the beginnings of a new horror movie.” he said, and flung the slime at Emily. “Ladies first!”

“Just you wait ‘til we get out of this crap Solberg .......” she retorted. “Promises, promises! Can’t wait dear!” “Grrrrrr, I’d rather shoot myself.” “Careful now. Keep growling like that and wise-old-wolf-boy might just start humping your leg!” Roman teased as he picked up handfuls of the slime and started covering himself in it. “Better him than you, you abhorrent Piradian.” “Ooh you’re so adorable when you’re angry!” 

Caine snuffed and turned away, unsure how to react to their argument, and his name in it. Stinger just shrugged his shoulders and grabbed up some muck. “Here Caine, for your back.” Caine nodded and kept still as Stinger covered him in the oozing sludge, a little more gently than necessary. “There, now you do mine.” Stinger told him. Caine nodded again and returned the favour, then covered the front of his own body. He was aware that Stinger was watching where his hands went, but refrained from making eye contact with his Corporal. 

\-----------------

They finally made their way out of the stagnant swamp, tired and covered all over in the muck. “Thank the Gods – Land!!!” whined Jason as he dropped to his knees and went chest first onto the grass. “Quit being so melodramatic, overgrown baby!” muttered Emily to herself. Caine snorted a little, and she grinned and winked at him. “So where now?” Stinger asked Caine. “Me?” he replied confused. Stinger nodded and said, ”Well you’re the one with the nose. Which way do you think we should go, that those fucking aliens can’t find us?” Caine tilted his head at him, then moved a few paces away from the group.

Closing his eyes, Caine inhaled slowly and took stock of all the different smells. The wind was blowing gently from the south-east, bringing with it scent of heavy rain a few hours out. He smelt the nearby bald cypress trees, willows and wax myrtles, swamp ferns, Spanish moss and sweet scented orchids. Underlying them was the dissolving bedrock of limestone that the cypress tree roots were pushing their way into so they could grow.

But the scent mingled with the oncoming rain was what drew Caine in. It was the salt smell from a vast ocean teaming with life. He caught faint whiffs of dune grasses, bird life, some animal life, and smoke. “There’s an ocean about a hundred clicks south-east of us. There’s people there too. And rain is coming in a few hours, I think.” he reported to Stinger finally. “Good.” Stinger nodded. “I could do with a feed and a shower. You too, by the smell of you.” “Yes Sir.” Caine agreed. "After you, then." Stinger replied gladly.


	11. Here, fishy fishy ....

Darkness began to set in after they had travelled only 20 clicks from the swamp. In the twilight, they came upon a clean running creek cutting through a clearing in the forest. Taking the opportunity to clean the swamp ooze from her, Emily threw herself into the creek happily and began rubbing herself over, the current carrying away the mud. The Twins watched her, and wolf-whistled as she began removing her clothes. "Unless you're gonna clean these properly, shut the fuck up!" she said, and threw her balled up shirt at them. Caine saw the mech-circuit tattoos embedded on her arm that ran from her shoulder down to her elbow, as he followed Stinger, Jax and Jason into the water, fully clothed. The water was cool, and deepened quickly. When it reached his balls, he breathed in sharply and swore, then threw himself in just to get the first shock of coldness over and done with.

Stinger laughed at him when he came up for air, then dived under himself. Caine shook his head at Stingers delight in the cold water once he had surfaced again. Taking his shirt off, Caine began washing it in the current. Warm water in a shower block would have been preferable, but clean is clean no matter the temperature. The Twins followed, swearing at the temperature, but diving in quickly too. Once there were lumps of everyone's clean wet clothes scattered on the grass of the clearing, Emily moved away from the group towards to bank on the opposite side of the creek.

Some trees clung to the edges of the banks, their roots exposed but running down into the river floor. She moved slowly through the water looking for fish to catch. Jason and Stinger both left the river naked, to dry off and find some wood for a fire for the night. The Twins swam downstream and out of sight, exploring in the dimming light and Jax headed upstream. Two suns orbiting the planet they were on meant a long slow sunset, and ample time to see what was ahead of them for the trek to the ocean tomorrow. Caine finished cleaning his clothes and got out of the creek naked as Stinger and Jason returned with their arms full of wood for the fire. Stinger noticed Caine naked and winked at him appreciatively. Caine blushed and looked away, but helped them build the fire as best as he could, though he was distracted by Emily.

He didn't have much experience with women, and her naked butt floating in the water fascinated him. She moved slowly upstream through the tree roots looking for fish, floating on the surface so her feet wouldn't stir up any sediment on the creek bed.  When she spotted a long dark shape under a tree root, she carefully eased her hand towards it and up under its tail. Very gently, Emily started rubbing the under side of the fish, working her way up to its belly then gills. Once she got herself into a better position, she quickly grabbed the fish through the gills and lifted it out of the water and hurled it onto the bank. Caine, who had been watching surreptitiously, sat up and watched Emily closely as she went looking for more fish.

He quickly scanned the river banks and accidentally let out a small whine when he spotted some fish not far away from where Emily was. Behind him, Stinger chuckled and shoved Caine gently on the shoulder. "I swear if you had a tail, it'd be wagging a million miles an hour! Why don't you just go over and help her out?" Stinger suggested. Caine looked back at him and nodded, then quickly got back into the river. Emily noticed him approach carefully and smiled. She saw Stinger greedily watching Caine swim towards her, and smirked at him when their eyes met. Stinger turned back to building the fire when Caine grabbed onto a tree root near Emily. "Move slowly and do what I do." she told him. Caine nodded seriously, and copied her movements. She stretched out floating in the water in front of Caine and couldn't help smiling when she saw his eyes flick quickly to her arse and back to her face again. "There's some fish just up ahead. Do you want to try there?" he asked, realising she had seen where he looked.

"Sure," she replied, "C'mon then." Emily turned around and used the tree roots to pull herself upstream, just in front of Caine. He inhaled quietly and followed her, his mind wandering from sliding his hand under a fish, to sliding it over Emily's backside instead. Lost in that thought, he almost went face-first into her feet as she stopped without warning in front of him."You might want to tuck your cock between your legs too." she turned to him with a cheeky grin. Confused, Caine went bright red in the face. She grinned and let the current carry her to within inches of him. The water between them warmed slightly from their body heat, and Caine fought the sudden urge to slide his hand around her waist.

Emily gently grabbed hold of his rising cock and ran her hand down the length of it. Caine whimpered and she smiled at him, but tucked it between his legs instead of playing with it. "You don't want any fish to think they can get their mouths on it. It's not for them." she whispered into his ear. Caine whimpered again and inhaled the scent rising from her neck, shivering as he tried to memorise it. "Later," she told him as she moved back a bit. "First we need more fish. The others need food too." He shook his head slightly to try to clear his thoughts, then nodded at Emily. "Can you show me how to do it?" he asked a little to huskily. Emily grinned wickedly at him. "Love to." she replied. "C'mon, let's get to tickling some fish."

 


	12. Stalked

The fish were wrapped in banana leaves and had almost finished roasting in the coals of the fire when the Twins returned. "Damn, that smells good!" Roman said hungrily as he set down a makeshift basket. "How'd you catch fish with no gear?" "Magic fingers." replied Emily holding up her hand and wiggling her fingers at him. Caine snorted and Tristan raised an eyebrow at him. "Times two." added Caine, and copied Emily's gesture. She laughed and nodded. "Where'd you get that and what's in it?" she asked of Roman.

"Magic fingers!" he replied, and up-ended the woven basket. Apples, bananas, some weird battered-looking red orbs, wild lettuce and carrots, and spring onions tumbled out. "Wow, nice! Didn't know you knew how to gather!" she said appreciatively. "Maybe you should get to know me better then, Wells." Roman replied suggestively. "Yeah, you wish." Emily retorted. Caine picked up one of the orbs and looked at it suspiciously, then sniffed it. He was a little wary of the fruit as it smelt subtly sweet. He looked at Tristan questioningly, who just shrugged. "It's a Dragon Fruit." said Stinger entering the circle of light of the fire with Jax.

Caine hadn't noticed Jax's return, nor the fact that he had been off somewhere with Stinger. Stinger took the fruit from Caines hand, cut it open and moved it towards the firelight so Caine could see its contents. Inside was white and studded with lots of little black seeds, a stark contrast to the outside of the fruit. "Try it." Stinger said, handing it back to him as he sat down with an oomph. Caine regarded Stinger with curiosity, but Stinger shook his head ever so slightly. Figuring he'd ask later, Caine peeled some of the skin of the fruit away and took a small bite.

He was lost for words at the first taste, but it was good. He'd had plenty of different types of fruit before, the Legion kept them well fed. But the closest Caine could describe the taste was something like a sweet raspberry cucumber. "It's good." he finally said to Stinger. "Yup." replied Stinger. He grabbed the other half of the fruit and ate it quickly, then stretched his bare feet out towards the fire and lay back on the grass, hands under his head and looked up at the stars.

The night had set in, but its was warm enough that the only one in the group who had a shirt on was Emily. She knelt down in front of him to pull the fish out of the coals. As she leaned forward a little too far, the shirt she had on rose above her bare arse and Caine had a full view of her mound. His cock throbbed in his pants as the scent of her arousal wafted towards him, and he shifted slightly to try to relieve the tension. He blushed madly as Emily looked back at him when she sat back on her heels and smiled at him.

"Bloody tease, woman!" Jax said from the other side of the fire. "Kid probably doesn't even know what to do with it." "What? And you do?" Emily asked mockingly. "You'll see." he replied. "Some other time though. You're on first watch tonight with DeLaria." "Fuck that, you watch with him. He'll be asleep as soon as everyone else is!" "He does, and he gets shot." Stinger said, sitting up. "We're being followed still, but not by the Azarn Ceol." "Followed? So why are we out in the open, in front of a nice bright fire then?" snapped Jason, grabbing some fish to eat.

"Nothing to worry about. But just in case, you and Wells are on first watch." Stinger said, also grabbing some fish. "Three hour shifts." Jason and the Twins grumbled, but didn't argue the point. The group ate quickly and quietly with only the sound of the fire crackling gently and the odd cricket chirping here and there. "Man it's quiet here. Kinda eerie." said Tristan as he finished eating and got up. Roman nodded and followed his brother over to the creek to clean their hands and faces before turning in for a few hours sleep. Once Caine had finished eating, Stinger got up and motioned for Caine to follow.

They walked quietly upstream along the bank of the creek. Under the stars, the water glittered as it flowed next to them. Any other time, it would have been picturesque, almost romantic even. But Caine could smell the tension coming from his Corporal, and wondered what the problem was. About half a mile upstream, Stinger slowed down and started looking around on the ground. Spotting something just ahead of them, Stinger pointed it out to Caine.

"Tracks." Caine breathed. "But none like I've ever seen before." He squatted down to feel the hoof impressions in the soft earth. They were something between a goat, camel and horse print, yet larger than the span of Caines hand. He leant down to the print and inhales the scent carefully.  The smell was completely foreign to him, yet oddly familiar. Caine looked up at Stinger confused, but Stinger pointed to another set of tracks, almost hidden by the huge ones and the darkness.

"Human feet. Tiny human. Child maybe?" queried Caine. "Smell them." said Stinger. "Old. Old? How can feet that small smell so old?" replied Caine, completely confused now. "Pandemonia." replied Stinger worriedly. "A creature older than most of the planets we know of or live on. And it's here, following us."

 

 


	13. Confusion

_Caine was standing in a square, cold, partially built office space. Looking out of the nearest window, he could see the lights of the sprawling city far below him, twinkling brightly against the night sky. Sighing, Caine returned his gaze to the work bench in front of him. Spread across it was were some humans' tools, wires, and her belongings._

_A small, folding, fake leather pouch with a G on it contained some small coloured plastic notes, with 5, 10 and 20 inked on them. A few silver disks were in a zippered section, and a few hard plastic cards as well. The cards all bore the name 'Jupiter Jones" on them, but a little white paper card said "Katherine Dunleavy". Caine wondered who was who. Passing them over quickly, he picked up a black device and accidentally pressed the button on top. The screen lit up with a picture of some women on it, and 'swipe to unlock' at the bottom of the screen. Curious, Caine swiped it, and the device changed pictures - to show Keepers coming towards her. He glanced quickly back at the woman asleep on the floor behind him. She was still out to it, but judging from the way her breathing was changing, she would wake very soon. Caine breathed in deeply, then immediately regretted it._

_The smell of the construction space around him, while not totally alien to him, was not appealing to him. He couldn't wait to leave it. It was Her scent. Tracking her for the short time he had agreed to take the job, taking in her scent at every possible opportunity, had opened a door he didn't realise was closed. He wasn't even sure that he knew why it affecting him so much. She smelt like no one he had ever tracked before, but she made him want to be near her. To do things for her, protect her from what was waiting for her out there. He felt a sense of longing so bad it almost hurt to be near her, but the thought of turning the woman over to Lord Titus almost choked the breath from his lungs. How could he do it? Turn her over so easily? Maybe he should just take her somewhere else? Surely there were places where the Abrasax name held no meaning?_

_She moaned quietly, and Caine picked up his mauler and walked quietly to where Jupiter lay on the floor. Concern furrowed his brows, concern for her safety. Why was he so worried, she was just a way to get back into the Legion. Him and Stinger. Jupiter rolled over onto her side, and Caine placed his only remaining mauler on the ground near her, safety on. He backed up carefully and returned to the work bench. As he gathered up her things, he heard Jupiter wake up and smelt her confusion as she looked around her, then at him. Caine put his hands up in the air when she picked up the gun and aimed it at him. He turned to tell her that the safety was on, but all that came out of his mouth was snoring._ Wait, what the ... ???  _Caine tried to turn around to face Jupiter again, but a warm body was pressed snuggly against his back, an arm draped over the dip in his waist._ Who the .... ??

The scent of fire and forest crept into his senses, and as Caine woke up from his dream, he heard the sounds of small branches being broken up and fed to the camp fire. Opening his eyes, all he saw at first was darkness. Blinking a few times cleared the cobwebs of sleep and looking again, Caine saw the soft glow of fire light on the ground. And the sleeping body less than an arms length in front of him. Stingers' back was to him and the Corporal was snoring quietly. _For a change,_ Caine thought. Looking over Stingers shoulder towards the fire, he saw Jax adding the branches to it. Caine yawned, exposing his canines, as Jax turned and looked at him. Locking eyes momentarily, Jax frowned then turned back to the fire, throwing the last of the branches on it.

Caine shrugged it off, then turned his head to look at who was behind him. Seeing the rise of a hip with mech-tattoos running over it and down a part of the leg, he realised that it was Emily - and she was completely naked. Manoeuvring himself as carefully as possible, Caine turned his body towards Emily. Still asleep, Emily adjusted herself to Caine laying on his back easily. She drew her left leg up and over Caines leg while her hand moved up to his chest. Caine watched her in fascination as she cuddled into him. He decided to moved his left arm around the top of her head, and Emily automatically put her head on his shoulder. Smiling, Caine decided to see what would happen if he placed his other hand on the leg draped across his legs. As he slid it up the side of her knee, Emily pushed her mound into his leg and moaned quietly, her fingers scraping his chest lightly. Caines pulse quickened and his cock throbbed in response.

He wondered what would happen if he slid his hand higher up her leg? Would she like it? Would the woman in his dream, Jupiter?, like it. What would she look like curled up to him like Emily was? Who on Orous was Jupiter? But damn, her scent! Caine could almost still smell it, and that feeling of longing, of needing  _Her_ , hit him hard. Caine looked away from Emily with guilt. It was just a dream, why was he feeling like this? Just because his litter-mates had rejected him for being a runt? Because no-one wanted to be associated with a half-albino runt Lycantant with bad genes?  But Stinger wanted to be around him. So did Emily apparently. Maybe they were meant to be his new pack-mates? He felt protective of Stinger and submissive as well. Emily was an anomaly to him though. Why was she curled up to him naked? Why was he naked?

Caine was getting concerned that he couldn't figure out what was going on. He had followed Stinger upstream where the Corporal had shown him the tracks of something. Something important. But what was it, and why in Ayeomanth's fury could he not remember it? Something was wrong. He'd never forgotten anything, ever. And this felt so important. Next to him, Emily woke up and saw the concern on Caines face. She dug her fingers into his chest and Caine turned to look at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I don't know." he replied worriedly. "I can't remember."


	14. Cuts and Scratches and What Happens Next

Emily propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at Caine. "What do you mean, you can't remember?" Caine frowned up at her, suddenly unsure of what to say.  "I don't know." he said finally. "I remember going upstream with Stinger and looking at some unusual tracks in the ground. I don't remember what happened after that. Just that I had a really weird dream, and woke up with you cuddled up to me. Do you know what happened to me?" "Do I know what... Are you fucking serious? You and him came back hours after you went upstream. I was on watch and wondering where the fuck you two were. All of a sudden, I hear someone crashing through the forest and Stinger comes out naked with scratches all over him. I tried to talk to him and find out what happened, but he just pushed past me and went and passed out where he is now. Jax and I were about to go look for you when you came back down the creek, naked, and threw yourself at me. Any other time, I wouldn't have stopped you, but you sank your fangs into my shoulder. So I knocked you the fuck out instead."

Caine blushed deeply and looked away from Emily. His eyes fell on Stingers back and he noticed the tension in the Corporals muscles, and the scratches on his back and arms. Stinger was awake and listening to them and Caine felt ashamed at what Emily had said. Under almost every circumstance, Caine would never have bitten her. He was desperately wracking his brain, trying to remember what had happened, when Emily spoke again. "Caine," she said gently. "It's okay." She reached up and turned Caines face back towards her. He avoided her eyes but she managed to draw them back to hers. "It's okay," she repeated, and kissed his chest softly. "If nothing happened, why are you naked?" He asked finally. "You shredded my clothes when you bit me, before I knocked you out." "Oh." "Yeah, oh." "I'm sorry," Caine said. Stinger coughed accidentally and they both looked over at him in surprise. 

"As charming as it is listening to you two love birds, we need to get moving." Jax said from the other side of the fire. "This place is giving me the creeps." Stinger rolled over on to his back and sat up groaning. "Not without some clothes." he grumbled. "Here." snorted Jax, and a ball of clothes came sailing over the top of the fire to land in Stingers lap. "I went and looked for them. Had to fix them up a bit, but they will do the job for now." Stinger unfurled the bundle and picked up his pants. There were long tears in them that had been sewn up roughly. "What the fuck??" he groaned. "Sorry Sir, ran out of thread." Jax shrugged. "Did hers first, then yours. His didn't need fixing." "Huh, didn't know you could sew." said Emily. 

Jax stood up and walked around the fire and stood looking down at her and Caine. Caine felt the urge to protect Emily, and he bared his teeth at Jax. Jax considered him a moment. "Down boy, she's all yours. Just don't come whining to me when she leaves you on some shitty, backwater planet for some new plaything." He dumped their clothes at Caines feet and stalked off morosely. Emily moaned regretfully and lowered her head onto Caines chest. 

"Caine, I'm sorry. I ..." Emily started to apologise. "Save it for later." Stinger said quietly as he pulled on his pants.  "Jax is right, we need to leave. Something's not right here." Caine sat up immediately and reached for his clothes, making Emily move off him awkwardly. She winced, and Caine looked back at her. Seeing where she was rubbing, Caine moved her hand away, and saw the puncture marks in her shoulder. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!" Caine stammered, pulling his hand back quickly. Stinger crouched down next to Caine and looked at her shoulder. "Fuck! There's broken wires. We need to get you repaired before that gets infected." Stinger cursed. "I'm sorry." Caine said quietly as he hung his head. "I didn't know." 

"I'll be fine, Sir." Emily said, and pulled on what was left of her shirt. "I've been worse." "Ever been bitten by a Lycantant?" Stinger asked. "Well .... Aahh, No, Sir." "That's what I thought." Turning to Caine, he said "Pack up quick. We need to get to that village as soon as possible." Caine nodded and grabbed his gear. "Roman! Tristan! Wake up!" Stinger called out. "Jason, get your hand off your cock and your arse into gear! Time to move out!"

 

\-------------

 

Halfway to the village near the ocean, Emily stumbled badly and collapsed. "I'm fine, it's nothing." she said as Stinger helped her back up. Stinger tore her shirt at the shoulder and grimaced. Her punctures had quickly become infected and was starting to poison her blood. “You won’t make it there at this pace. We need to hurry.” Stinger told her, concerned. “Roman, Tristan. Run ahead and see if you can get any help from the villagers.” “Yes Sir.” they replied together, and took off. Caines ear twitched, and he picked up a sound coming from the village. “Stop!” he called out to the Twins. They stopped and looked back at him, puzzled. “Caine, what?” asked Stinger. “Something’s coming. Something big.”

Moments later, the group felt the earth shake gently, as if Titans were walking towards them. But the footfall was not tremendous, more as if it was tip-toeing across the ground. Caine smelt the breeze and picked up the scent wafting towards them. It was not one he had come across before, and it irritated his nose enough that he started sneezing.  “Caine, what is it?” Emily asked groggily. “I don’t …… oh fuck!!!” He drew his maulers and pointed them towards the sky. Looking up, the others saw several large, round, tentacle-chinned heads at the end of very long necks, descending towards them from over top of the trees. Jason, Jax and the Twins all pointed their weapons towards the creatures as well, but Stinger told them not to fire.

The creatures held their heads a few meters above the group and slowly blinked their large grey eyes. They heard them snuffling and scenting them. Apparently one found their scents awful, because it sneezed loudly, spraying the people below it in thick blue snot. Voices laughed from behind the group, and the creatures lifted their tentacle-chined heads up. They turned around to come face to face with some rather sharp pointed spears. Caine growled and aimed at two of the spear-holders. The Twins did the same thing, but Jax holstered his. “What the fuck you doin’ Gallows?” swore Jason in alarm, a chunk of snot dripping off his head-gear. “We’re out gunned, De Laria. I think we should just give up and go with them to their village.” replied Jax as he tried wiping the snot off his face. “Stinger?” Stinger nodded, then looked at Emily.

One of the spear holders noticed Emily, and her infected shoulder. He nudged the man beside him and pointed at her. They quickly exchanged words, then the first man disappeared into the forest with another man. The oldest spear-man motioned for them to follow, then turned and walked back into the forest with the rest of his tribe. “I think they may want to help. And Emily needs it.” decided Stinger. “You okay Em? Let’s go.”


	15. Wants and Needs

Several days had passed since Stingers group had been taken back to the spear-mens' camp. The group called themselves "Aetu", although Stinger still could not understand the meaning. The tribe moved around the land a few times per cycle, and had a permanent home set up several weeks ride to the south of their current location. The winter up this far north saw told to be severe, with snow falling up to the belly of their huge tentacle-chined beasts - Rthelme.  There had been many attempts at learning their language, on Caines part. He had only managed to pick up a few words so far. Jason was completely hopeless and the Twins just weren't interested. Stinger and Jax learnt it easily, and were able to talk to the Chief and his villagers with relative easy. Stinger had been to see Emily several times, and the shaman of the tribe had applied treatments to her wounds. The infection had decreased, but the wizened old albino woman had not been able to fix or remove the damaged wiring in Emilys' shoulder. Stinger was concerned that it could become a problem if they did not get back to Orous soon. Even with the tech they had, repairing Emily's enhancements could become as complicated as it was when it was first installed in her body.

Another concern of Stingers - was Caine. He had tried several times to see Emily, but been turned away by the Shaman or the Chief, only to try and sneak back to the window near her in the hut, and attempt to climb in it. Stinger hadn't really know Caine all that long, but he considered this behaviour to be completely uncharacteristic of the Lycantant. Or any other 'normal' Lycantant. His only encounter with another Lycantant, was one time at a bar. He was full of alcohol and looking to either fight or fuck, when he stumbled on a Female Lycantants tail. She'd turned around and punched him in the jaw quicker than he could react, and he'd gone flying across several tables and crashed onto another one. She'd followed after him and straddled him, about to hit him again, when Stinger smiled cheekily and thrust his hips, and hard cock, up. They'd ended up in a cheap room and broken every piece of furniture in it, fucking each others brains out.

Catching Caine heading towards the hut again, Stinger grabbed him and steered him towards the beach. Caine said nothing on the way there, but Stinger noticed that Caine was breathing heavier than normal, and his skin was hot to touch. "C'mon, we're going for a swim. And you're gonna tell me what the fuck is going on in that scruffy blonde head of yours." Stinger said, grabbing Caines wrist as the Lycantant went to turn back towards the village. Caine huffed, but followed obediently after that. They reached the beach easily, the dunes soft and pure white under their feet. The water was gently lapping onto the sand and no-one was about at the time. "Right, stop." Stinger ordered Caine. "Clothes off, and get into the water." Caine obeyed without complaint. Taking off his shirt, Stinger saw Caines back was flushed with red patches on it. As Caine bent over in front of the Corporal to take his boots and pants off, Stinger couldn't help himself, and looked. Caines balls were tight up against his body, and a slick patch covered them and his inner thighs, leaking slowly out of a small slit behind the tight sack. "Of course!" Stinger said, rubbing his forehead. "Now I get it." "Get what?" Caine challenged. "Easy Caine. I understand now, I think. You're on heat." Stinger told him. "I'm what?" Caine asked, puzzled. "On heat. You've gone through it before have you?" Caines eyes glazed over momentarily. "No," he said finally. "What do I do? I can't help myself, and it's getting worse." "I think I may know, but I don't quite have what you need." Stinger replied quietly.

"What do I need?" Caine asked, just as quietly, and moved closer to Stinger. "A pack." the Corporal replied. "And their knots and twats, all at once." Caine moved closer to Stinger, and Stinger reached up and grabbed Caine by the scruff of the neck, pulling his head down to his own. "I can tide you over for now, if you'll let me. But we need to get off this damn planet. And soon." "Tide me over? How?" asked Caine, scenting Stingers husky breath. "I don't have a knot, or a twat." Stinger said, then reached between Caines legs and rubbed the slick slit and the other hole behind it. "But I can fill these as often as you need, to get you through this." Caine moaned and lowered his head to Stingers neck, biting gently on it as Stinger rubbed him more. "Do you want me?" breathed Stinger. "Yes." replied Caine, Stingers fingers slipping just inside the slit. "In the water then." Stinger said, and guided him back gently into the ocean.

 

\-------------

 

The Shaman, Aetu-Ma, became seriously concerned over Stingers welfare. Only 4 days ago she had witnessed Stinger and Caine in the ocean. Watching them discreetly since, she quickly figured out what was happening between the splices, and what was going on in Caines body. After seeing Stinger almost crawl from the hut to the creek for a drink, she decided to interject someone else into their ‘activities’. “How’s Stinger?” Emily asked when Aetu-Ma entered the recovery hut. The old woman cocked her head and regarded Emily carefully. “Your Chief? Good man, good provider. His pet? Very needy, need more than Chief able give.” Aetu-Ma said as she lowered herself to the floor next to Emily. “You understand me?” Emily asked surprised. “Understand, yes. Speak, not good. Chief pet in breed-need. Pet need woman, not man.” Aetu-Ma said. “Oh, Gods above!!” laughed Emily. “Caine’s on heat?! Oh, poor Stinger.”

Aetu-Ma furrowed her brow concerned at Emily’s reaction. “No, No, it’s ok.” Emily said hastily at the Shamans look. “Caine has ‘Man’ and ‘Woman’ parts, but he is neither of those. He was made from people and Lycantant DNA. And I’m guessing it’s his first heat.” she explained. “Pet, Caine, made?” the Shaman asked, clearly confused. “Man and Woman make baby. Caine made this way?” “No,” Emily shook her head sadly. “Wow, how do I explain this? Um, ok. You make stew, yes?” Aetu-Ma nodded, prompting Emily to continue. “Out there,” Emily pointed up to the sky. “We have people who make people, like how you make stew. Only not from whole parts or stuff, usually. It’s like they take the stuff that seeds are made of, but only certain parts of the seed, and mix it with little parts of other seeds. Then they grow them in a special container. Like womans belly, but not in a woman. More like in a tube you can see into. Watch it grow. If it grows right, then they let it keep growing until its big enough to breath on its own. Outside the tubes. If it doesn’t grow right ......” Emily shook her head sadly, and lowered it.

Aetu-Ma took her time devouring what Emily said. The idea that somewhere, out there, in the ancestors’ homes, people like her, made other people like that. And destroyed life as easily they created it apparently. She shook her head to try and clear the looming images. Looking to Emily again, she said “What Stinger, Caine made from?” “Made from? You understand everything I just said?” said Emily in amazement. Aetu-Ma tilted her head to one side then the other, sort of understanding the basic principles. “Wow. Wow ok then.” Emily sat up and continued. “Stinger is like you and me. Well more like your people, and a bee. Bzzzzz.”

Aetu-Ma smiled and nodded, understanding the buzzing sound. “His stripes,” she said as she brushed her hand against the back of her head. “Yes,” laughed Emily slightly. “And eyes and brain. Inside head. Thinks quick, moves quick, like bee. And Bzzzz’s down there too.” “Down there?” asked the Shaman. Emily giggled, then waggled her finger between her legs. The Shamans eyes grew large. Then she laughed too, understanding. “Caine?” she asked. “Oh Caine.” Emily sobered. “Caine is like your people, and Lycantant. Wolf.” Emily started to growl like a wolf, but Aetu-Ma interrupted her quickly. “Shhhh! Wolf. Yes. Understand. Wolf strong, powerful. Wolf sacred. But wolf need family. Need many family. Wolf whole with family.” And with that, the little old Shaman got up and walked to the hut entrance. “You good now. Can go outside. With friends.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Aetu - Spear-wielding native people on the planet. I'd liken them to the nomadic tribes somewhere between "The Mammoth Hunters" or "Plains of Passage" by Jean M Auel  
> **Rthelme - See the pic of them on my Pintrest page. Not entirely sure how to describe these things other than a skeletal Brachiosaurus, an octopus and a stick insect  
> ***Aetu-Ma - Cool little old wizened albino witch doctor lady.


	16. Alpha Request

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning* - This is where it becomes explicit between Caine and Stinger. Emily gets her turn next chapter, hopefully :)

Emily was glad to be allowed outside. The infection was gone and the skin had healed as well as it could without RegeneX, even though the broken wires were sticking out of her skin. Looking around her, Emily wondered where her boys were. She could see 9 wooden huts around her. Strings of meat and fish were smoking over several fires, a huge skin of stew slung over another. There were many people around, most of which she could see were involved in preparing food. There was a small group of men off to one side, sitting under the shade of a large tree. They had what looked like drums of several sizes.

The children, Emily noticed as several of them ran past her laughing and shouting, were all running around like they were at a party. Shrugging it off and smiling at some more as they ran back past her, Emily decided to go and finally look at the ocean. She’d smelt it longingly ever since they had been bought to the camp, but had not been allowed out of the hut, until now. Spotting a well-worn trail, Emily headed down it, delighting in the feel of the sand between her toes half way down. The trail snaked around large trees sporadically, and passing by one rather large one, she spotted Jax coming up from the beach.

Spotting her, he smiled wistfully. “All better?” he asked casually. “Yeah, all good. Shaman’s a good healer. What’s going on back there?” Emily said, pointing back towards the camp. “Feast.” he replied, and leant up against the large tree. “You going down there?” he asked and pointed towards the beach. “Yeah. Thought I’d check it out, now I can. Catch up later, then.” she replied and ducked around Jax. “Hey Em? It doesn’t have to be like this. Between us, you know.” he called out to Emily as she kept walking. “Yeah, it does.” she called back without stopping or turning around. “Asshole.” Once Emily reached the beach, she stripped off her clothes. Going through one of her pockets, she pulled out a waterproof patch and applied it over the wires. “Just in case.” Emily told herself. Unknown to her, Jax had followed her back to the beach, but hid in the dune grasses so she could not see him. Unknown to both, another set of eyes watched her from the tree line.

\------------

 

Thankfully, Caine had woken up that morning clear headed and insanely apologetic towards Stinger for his recent behaviour. “It’s fine Caine. Really.” Stinger had told him, several times, before Caine had whimpered his way into Stingers lap. Once he started nuzzling, licking and nibbling at Stingers neck in apology, Stinger grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and rolled the Lycantant off him. Caine whined pitifully, and Stinger rolled himself over and straddled Caine. “It Is, ok Caine. I know enough about Lycantants heats. I wouldn’t have offered myself to tide you over if I’d had no idea about it.” the Corporal told him. Caine whined again, looking downcast. “Is that the only reason you offered? You wanted to claim my first heat. Another notch on your belt?” Caine asked, looking away miserably. “For fucks sake! Caine look at me.” ordered Stinger.

“The fact that this was your first heat had little to do with my decision. I’m in charge of this motley group until such time as we get shipped off this damn planet, or get killed. It’s my job not only to get us all back to Orous safely, but to look after everyone, lead them right, teach what I can and learn from them as well. You are part of my group. My pack. If. No, When, you need me, I’m here.” Stinger told Caine, seeing tears roll from Caines eyes. He wiped them away gently and Caine turned his head into Stingers soft touch. “Pack.” said Caine quietly. “I’ve never had one. Never thought .....” “I’ll be your pack, your Alpha, if it’s what you want. You just have to say it.” encouraged Stinger, a little hesitantly. Caine noticed the hesitation and looked away from Stinger.

Thinking about the offer, he wanted to accept. Wanted so badly to belong to someone, a pack, but the offer didn’t quite feel ‘right’. He turned back to Stinger and went to say no, but Stinger lowered his head quickly and nipped Caines neck. Caine sucked in a breath as lights danced behind his eyes and his cock hardened. “Answer me later,” Stinger breathed huskily into Caines ear, seeing his hesitation. He ground down on Caines erection, groaning at the feeling of Caines cock against his. “Right now, I need to tide you over so you behave yourself tonight.” Caine moaned at Stingers words and spread his legs. “I’ll behave. I promise. I will.” Caine breathed, the slit behind his balls dampening at Stingers actions. “Good Boy,” praised Stinger. He moved back, between Caines legs, grabbed the head of his cock and rubbed it against Caines slit. “You’re such a good boy.” “Yes, good ... Stinger, please ...” “Tell me what you want, Pup.” Stinger slowly pushed the head of his cock into Caines slit. Caines back arched and he grabbed fistfuls of the furs underneath him. Stinger pulled the head out and rubbed it between the base of Caines cock and balls. The Lycantant moaned loudly, his cock throbbing in response. “You. I want ...... you.” Caine moaned as he lifted his hips towards Stinger. “In me ...... please ...... Sting ........”

Stinger smiled and slid his cock into Caine. As he reached his own base, Stingers balls hard up against Caines, Stingers elbows gave way and he collapsed on top of Caine. “Gods Pup. You feel so good.” Stinger whispered into Caines ear as he pulled out and pushed into Caine again. Caine moaned as he turned into Stingers neck and kissed and nipped lightly at the Corporals pounding jugular. “You’re such a good boy Caine. You feel so good.” Stinger crooned as he started to speed up his pace. “So good.” “Fuck! Fuck me Stinger.” Caine moaned into Stingers neck. “Please. I need you!” Smiling, Stinger stopped, to Caines whining disappointment. He changed their positions so that he was on his back, and pulled Caine onto his lap. Caine quickly slid back onto Stingers cock. “That’s it. Good Boy! Ride me, Caine. Fuck me, hard.” he praised him. Caine blushed furiously and did as he was told.

“You like that? Being told you’re a Good boy?” asked Stinger. “Yes,” huffed Caine, gripping himself tight onto Stinger. “As long as it’s you.” Stinger nearly came then, but Caine relaxed a little and rocked on him again. “Gods, yes Caine! You are such a good boy. Good Lycantant!” he moaned. He grabbed Caines cock and started jacking it, bucking his hips up into Caine as quickly as he could. “I’m gonna cum. Real soon, Caine." Stinger told him. "I want you to cum, too, when I do. Can you do that, Pup. Can you be a good boy? Cum with me?” “Yes. Yes Stinger.” Caine moaned breathlessly. “Then cum for me Caine!” Stinger ordered, and bucked into Caine hard. Caine came at Stingers command, both from his slit and his cock. His hot seed spilled onto Stingers chest as the Corporal pumped Caines cock, his own seed flowing into Caine. Breathing heavily, Caine felt forward onto Stingers chest, his body shaking from the twin release. Stinger drew his hand up to his mouth and licked it clean, buzzing gently at the sweet taste.

Using his other hand, Stinger gently caressed Caines back. “Such a good boy Caine. Good Lycantant. Good man.” he praised. Caine hummed under the words, his breathing starting to return to normal finally. “Do you think you can walk?” asked Stinger casually. “Yes, I think so.” replied Caine. “Good. Let’s go for a swim in that creek out back.” Caine nodded and started to slide up off Stinger. Stinger grabbed his arse cheeks and ground Caines hips down on him, moaning. “Anytime. Just say the words.” Stinger told Caine. Caine nodded shyly and leant down to nuzzle Stingers neck. “Yes, Sir.” he whispered, then got up and walked out the back hut doorway, naked.


	17. Bonfires and Body Paint

As night settled, the Aetu settled around the bonfire in the central area of their camp. Stinger was told by the Chief that his group was welcome, as long as everyone behaved themselves. Stinger knew he meant Caine. It was overly obvious that they all knew about what was going on with Caine, and between them. But no one pried. It wasn’t their business unless it got out of hand.

The people were talking quietly amongst themselves, waiting in anticipation for the Chief to begin. Aetu-Ma walked into the group, and they all fell silent. She was wearing nothing, her body covered in paint, and carrying an old wooden bowl. The paint was made from the crushed-up coals from a fire she had burned earlier in the day, and ochre in shades of reds and yellows, patterned into spirals, stars and triangles. Her dreadlocked hair was caked carefully with chalk mixed into deer fat, and gave her an alien aura.

_‘Not that she’s an alien, to them._ ’ thought Stinger ruefully. ‘ _Here, we’re the aliens._ ’ Aetu-Ma gave Stinger a fleeting withered look, and he got the feeling that she had almost read his thoughts. He blushed and looked down at his feet. Caine shifter uncomfortably at his side, smelling Stingers embarrassment. The Corporal looked back up again and bumped his shoulder into Caines gently, and the Lycantant seemed to relax.

Aetu-Ma acknowledged the chief, who in turn nodded to the men nearest him. Two picked up some thick animal bones and started to beat them on the drums between their knees. Two more used their hands and together they started on a rhythm as a fifth man began chanting.

Aetu-Ma had ground up some dried roots and was stirring them into the bowl with some water, the fluid turning a rather ghastly shade of red. ‘ _Looks like blood._ ’ thought Stinger. ‘ _Gods only know I’ve seen enough of that in the last 200 Cycles._ ’ Aetu-Ma seemed to flinch in surprise, but quickly recovered, and Stinger guessed that she was indeed telepathic. Once she finished stirring the fluid, Aetu-Ma got up and offered a mouthful to the Chief, then continued around the circle until everyone had had some and the bowl was empty. The children, who were already asleep in their beds, had been given a mild sedative of camomile and lavender earlier in the evening.

The blood-like drink was a rather potent drink, reserved for special occasions. Stinger figured out quickly why. Moments after taking the two mouthfuls, his lips went tingly, his sight became blurry and his head swam. The chanting and drums sounded somehow, alive, and drew him away from the planet momentarily. A laugh in front of him drew him back down, to see a hand extended to him from one of the native women.

He grabbed it and she pulled him, a little tipsily, up and into the people dancing around the fire. ‘ _When did everyone start dancing? And why the beeswax am I dancing? Ah, fuck it......._ ’ he thought as he looked down at the beautiful woman dancing with him. She smiled and he returned it easily, as if they had known each other all their lives.

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Caine sniffed at the drink suspiciously, and only took a small sip of it. Aetu-Ma glared at him, offering it again, so he pretended to take a larger drink of it. Eyeing him, she moved on to Jason, Emily, Jax and the Twins. Jason passed out almost immediately, Emily and Jax laughing at him drunkenly after they had their share. Several women came out of the ring of dancers and dragged the men back into the circle with them. Emily waved off a few men that started in her direction, and leaned back on her elbows with her head against Caines arm.

Caine looked down at her quickly, but back at the fire just as quick. The light from the fire mesmerised him as it flickered and danced as the dancers moved around in front of it. He would have gone over to stand in front of it, but became distracted by its sudden disappearance. Emily stood in front of him, smiling at him, then reached down for his hands. He stood quickly, head spinning a little, and made to move towards the fire. She tugged on his hand instead, leading him away from it. “ _This way ._....” Emily whispered. “Come see what’s over here Caine.”

“Where’re we going?” asked Caine groggily. The drink seemed to be fogging up his head as he walked further away from the fire and the dancers. “Just up here,” Emily laughed as she nearly tripped over her own feet. “Just a bit further.” She led him haphazardly towards the beach, but veered off to the right before they left the tree line. Caine had no idea where they were going, the drink numbing his sense of smell as well as his co-ordination. “I don’t like that drink.” he stated, then stopped and looked around him. “Where are we?”


	18. Pleasure

Emily had led them to a small glade in the forest near the village. They could still hear the drums and chanting from the village, Caine thought they couldn't have gone that far, maybe only a few hundred meters away. In the middle of the glade was a small fire, some cooking utensils, and a pile of furs. "Furs?" queried Caine. "What for?" "Us, silly." she breathed, letting go of his hand and pressing herself to his chest. "I want you, here."Caine tried to figure out what she meant, and frowned when she laughed gently at his puzzled look. She slid her hand down the front of his pants before he could stop her, and grabbed hold of his cock.

Caine moaned and bared a fang at her, finally catching on to what Emily wanted. "Yeah, that's right. I wanna feel your cock inside me Caine. I want you to knot in me. Stinger's had you all to himself, now it's my turn." she demanded. "If you want." he replied, raking his fangs across her throat gently. Emily shivered and moaned at the sensation, and eased Caine's shaft from his pants. She stroked her hand up and down his thick length, dropped to her knees and sucked the head of his cock into her mouth.

Caine moaned as Emily's tongue flicked across the tip and around and around the head, and damn near growled when she slid her mouth half way down him. Looking down at her, Caine carefully wound his fingers through her hair and gently pushed her head back towards him. He throbbed hard in her mouth as Emily moaned and cupped his balls with her hands, sucking him in hard and deep.

A dry branch snapped from somewhere nearby in the shadows, but Caine was lost to the drink from Aetu-Ma and Emily's mouth. Instinct moved him to cum as she found his slit, hot and wet, and slid two fingers in. Caine gasped, shaking, and stepped back from her. "Caine?" Emily asked surprised. "How did you know...?" he began. "I know a lot about you. I was curious when I heard talk that we were getting you on our base, so I did some research. I found out some interesting things. And managed to get my hands on something that will help you." She told him.

Caine studied her for a moment, and when his cock throbbed from lack of attention, she smiled at him. Emily got up and removed her clothes, the smell of her arousal sending Caine's senses racing. "Take them off." She whispered, and Caine obeyed. "Come here and get on your knees." A fresh wave of arousal surged through Emily as he obeyed without question. Canine whined, almost seductively, and leant forward to within inches of her hips. Emily lifted a leg and put it over his shoulder, grabbed his hair and pulled his face onto her wet mound. "Make me cum, Lycantant."

Caine let out a soft growl as he flicked his tongue across her clit. Emily shivered at the sound and rocked her hips, grinding her mound on Caine's face. He smiled as she rocked, and licked his tongue up between her folds, thrusting two fingers inside her and sucking on her clit. "Another one," she groaned. "Harder." Caine added a third finger on the upstroke and her fresh spurt of wetness slicked his fingers as he pulled them out, before pumping them back in to her, over and over. "That's it, just like that. You're so good at that Caine." she moaned. "Fuck Lycantant, you're gonna make me cum soon if you keep that up."

Caine shifted Emily slightly so that he could open her up more and stroke his own cock at the same time. "Don't cum yet. I want you in me for that." She told him breathlessly. Caine whined, but kept licking. As his fingers rubbed over the entrance to her and slid deep inside yet again, he heard her breathing and heartbeat pick up. "Caine, fuck. Now, do it now. Make me cum."She moaned above him. Quickly, Caine dropped her leg from his shoulder and pulled her down onto his slick and hard member.

Emily rocked against Caine, moaning loudly, his hands guiding her hips in a fast, steady rhythm. "Oh gods Caine, that's so good." She breathed into his ear. "Cum now. Cum for me Em." He replied, grinding her hard along the length of his shaft. "Oh fuck. Caine! â€¦. Caine!" she moaned, and he leant her back with one arm, still grinding her on him with the other, and sucked a nipple into his mouth as she came on him. Her moans loud in his ears, her scent overwhelming him, Caine came hard inside her as she called out "Fuck Caine! Cum, knot. I wanna feel you knot me."

His moans matched her in rhythm as he pulled her down hard on his shaft, and held her still. She throbbed around him as his knot grew, their bodies shaking as he filled her completely. For a few moments, they both sat locked together before Emily tried slowly pulling away from Caine. He whined and grabbed onto her shoulders, pulling her back down onto him. He moaned loudly as her lips closed around the base of his shaft and she laughed gently. He looked up at her and she grinned cheekily at him.

Caine tipped his head to the side, questioningly dog-like, as she tried to slide off his knot again, and moaned in pleasure when she moved back down again. "Like that Pup?" she moaned into his ear. "You feel so damn good. Do you want me to keep doing that?" Caine nodded, still breathing hard, and Emily slowly rocked her hips back. He growled and leant forward to graze his fangs across her neck. He nipped her neck gently, and raised and lowered her hips on his knot as far as she could take it without hurting. "That's it, nice and slow. We've got all night Lycantant."


End file.
